Mackenzie Financial Corp Decreases Holdings in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS)

Mackenzie Financial Corp reduced its stake in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) by 56.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 22,411 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 29,000 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp’s holdings in Universal Health Services were worth $3,416,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of UHS. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Universal Health Services by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 10,079 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,461,000 after purchasing an additional 828 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in Universal Health Services by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 11,674 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,691,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Universal Health Services by 22.9% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 19,853 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $2,878,000 after purchasing an additional 3,699 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its stake in Universal Health Services by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 9,784 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,418,000 after purchasing an additional 606 shares during the period. Finally, BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in Universal Health Services by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 5,026,512 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $728,594,000 after purchasing an additional 113,259 shares during the period. 86.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on Universal Health Services from $152.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $156.00 target price on shares of Universal Health Services in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Universal Health Services from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Citigroup increased their target price on Universal Health Services from $170.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on Universal Health Services from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Universal Health Services has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.71.

Universal Health Services Stock Performance

NYSE:UHS opened at $157.47 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $119.90 and a 12-month high of $183.61. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $170.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $152.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.24.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The health services provider reported $3.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.11. Universal Health Services had a return on equity of 12.08% and a net margin of 5.03%. The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.02 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 13.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Steve Filton sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.82, for a total transaction of $6,188,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 68,785 shares in the company, valued at $12,162,563.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 16.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Universal Health Services Company Profile

Universal Health Services, Inc, through its subsidiaries, owns and operates acute care hospitals, and outpatient and behavioral health care facilities. It operates through Acute Care Hospital Services and Behavioral Health Care Services segments. The company's hospitals offer general and specialty surgery, internal medicine, obstetrics, emergency room care, radiology, oncology, diagnostic and coronary care, pediatric services, pharmacy services, and/or behavioral health services.